Ampère, André Marie (ăm`pēr; Fr. äNdrā` märē` äNpĕr`), 1775–1836, French physicist, mathematician, and natural philosopher. He was professor of mathematics at the École Polytechnique, Paris, and later at the Collège de France. Known for his contributions to electrodynamics, including the formulation of Ampère's law, he confirmed and amplified the work of Oersted on the relationship of electricity and magnetism, and he invented the astatic needle. The ampere was named for him. His writings include Recueil d'observations électro-dynamiques (1822) and Essai sur la philosophie des sciences (2 vol., 1834–43, vol. 1 repr. 1838).

Bibliography

See his Correspondance pub. by L. de Launay (3 vol., 1936–43).

Ampère, André Marie

(born Jan. 22, 1775, Lyon, France—died June 10, 1836, Marseille) French physicist, founder of the science of electromagnetism. A prodigy who mastered the entire known field of mathematics by age 12, he became a professor of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. He formulated a law of electromagnetism, called Ampère's law, that describes the magnetic force between two electric currents. An instrument he devised to measure the flow of electricity was later refined as the galvanometer. His chief published work was Memoir on the Mathematical Theory of Electrodynamic Phenomena (1827). The ampere (A) unit of electric current was named for him.